RBIG Group Life Assurance Solutions

Despite having a relatively small impact on payroll costs, group life assurance delivers big on perceived value among employees.

Also known as group life insurance and death in service cover, according to industry body, Group Risk Development it is the most common employer sponsored protection benefit in the UK.

The Swiss Re Group Watch 2019 survey confirms its growing popularity, with significant growth in membership reported for both lump sum death in service and expected group life asssurance schemes.

Over 10 million UK employees now benefit from such policies.

Its popularity is understandable.

Employee benefits

If you provide group life assurance you're signalling to your employees that you care not just about them, but their families. 

You'll be giving them invaluable reassurance. They'll know that should the worst happen and they  whilst employed by you, then their loved ones will receive a lump sum or taxable pension to ease their financial burden.

Correctly structured, group life assurance can also be tax friendly. Premiums are not classed as a benefit in kind by HMRC and so will not hit your employees with tax bills. In addition, lump sum settlements will normally be tax free (subject to the Lifetime Allowance) and schemes written in trust will not attract inheritance tax.

Employer benefits

Group life assurance is similarly tax-friendly for employers.

Again, if schemes are correctly structured, premiums are treated by HMRC as a business expense which in turn makes them eligible for corporation tax relief. This helps further minimise the relatively low cost of introducing death in service cover.

Introduction is itself also eased by the fact that many insurers do not require employers to present medical histories, keeping the paperwork and resource required to a minimum.

Supported by RBIG's expert advisors, you can also take advantage of the flexibility the market offers. This allows you to introduce benefits which are universal, tiered or serve a select group of employees and to determine yourself the formula of salary-based settlements.

RBIG Group Life Assurance services

As always, our highly experienced financial advisors will work in partnership with you to identify or design the best group life assurance for your business.

In doing so they'll take into account your aims, objectives and budget, keeping a close eye on potential tax efficiencies. They also consider how death in service insurance might complement other existing or proposed group risk policies or employee benefits.

Areas in which we can offer expert and impartial advice include:

• Structuring cover to maximise tax efficiencies for employer and employees - corporation tax, inheritance tax, benefit-in-kind
• Evaluating and costing the level of benefit to be offered - the salary multiple that works best for you
• Bespoke scheme design
• Expected group life assurance - tax-efficient cover for higher earners
• Integrated employee benefits' packages - group pension insurance, critical illness, Employee Assistance Programmes, group private medical insurance etc